A Family Reunion at Gweilo

We celebrated Michael and Andrew’s birthday with the family at Gweilo, a large house in a very beautiful setting on the Goukou river, upstream from Stilbaai. It was a joyful occasion and we were joined by Hanna and Amy, making for an extended get-together for the first time since we started these, now established, reunions. We had three nights there with much supping and canoeing on the river, many games enjoyed in the normal competitive spirit, and a great deal of time spent birding. 

The birding, by all and sundry, came about because we decided on New Year’s Eve to start a Hazell Family Birding Big Year, so we were all frantically searching and comparing sightings and lists! Even those who had never had an interest have now joined the fun and we will no doubt be a formidable birding force by the end of the year! James is the undisputed leader and we are all going to have our work cut out to keep up with him. 

We had amazing dinners, with many new chefs emerging as the younger members of the family displayed their skills, much beer and wine was consumed and the singing around the Ghetto Blasters was amazing! We hope there will be many more such get-togethers as the family starts to move off in different directions as university careers end and working life commences.

Renee and I spent a day around Voelvlei on the way to Gweilo. necessitating a night at Gouritz Mond. We were chasing the rare White-rumped Plover and believe that we saw it, along with many other waders. We have never seen Voelvlei so full, and it made for difficult birding as many of the roads were flooded.

Renee and I drove home via Witsand, in the hope of getting a few more birds. We found a good pan on the way into the village, with many waders, so spent some time there. We were fascinated by the millions of snails that collect on the fence posts along the side of the roads. This apparently a mechanism whereby they seal themselves in against drought, since they rely on moisture which is unavailable in summer.

A Fabulous Day Birding

Today Renee and I went birding on the Agulhas Plain. It was a fabulous day with perfect, warm, still weather. We were searching for a Black-winged Pratincole, a bird that does not normally occur in the area, but which had been reported earlier in the week. By some miracle we found no less than three of them along with a myriad of other birds, 108 species in total, including African Snipe, Whiskered and White-winged Terns, around 120 White Storks all gathered in one spot, a flock of around 100 Great White Pelicans, around 1000 Egyptian Geese around one dam, and huge numbers of waders on the farm Vogelsang. It was really wonderful to see such numbers, but the strange thing was that when we crossed the road to Struisbaai on our way back, the birds just fell away and we hardly saw much more.

The Hazell family decided to embark on a Birding Big Year and we started on 1 January, with even the non-birders taking part. Everyone is enthusiastic about the challenge and we hope that this lasts for the whole year. Here are a few of the birds seen so far.

Family Reunion at Arniston

Pirate’s Landing, a beautiful house overlooking the bay and harbour at Arniston was the scene of another Hazell family reunion this past weekend – and what a wonderful weekend it was! The weather was perfect with warm days and little wind, resulting in perfectly flat seas and, with low tide in the morning, we were able to go for long walks along the spectacular shoreline with it’s clear blue pools and impressive rock formations. The Waenhuiskraal cave was a special treat, although the older members of the party battled with the small entrance!

The youngsters had a kayak and were able to paddle out to some of the islands that were exposed at low tide. There they fished and snorkeled, but unfortunately they did not catch any fish worth keeping. Back at the house, the meals were great and we all enjoyed each other’s company. Final matric marks were received and there was great celebration of the high standard and everyone looked forward to a new year with new life experiences looming!

Renee’s fall on the slippery rocks, exposed at low tide, was the only blemish on a wonderful break. Even the sea played along with balmy warm water, allowing everybody great swimming opportunities

A Weekend at Kagga Kama

We were thrilled when Andrew and Gillian invited us to join them and Tanja and David for a weekend at the Kagga Kama Reserve on the eastern edge of the Cedarberg mountains, opposite The Tankwa Karoo NP. Whilst our cottage left a bit to be desired in term of finish and space, the setting was so superb as to allow us to gloss over any imperfections and just enjoy being in a bit of paradise. We walked through the most amazing rock formations and enjoyed spectacular sunsets and wonderful meals, whilst relishing the family ties.

Birding was not too good although Andrew did manage to add three lifers to his tally. We only identified around 24 species in two days, attesting to the paucity of species in the area. Our low count was not for lack of trying!

Family Reunions and a Special Birthday or Two

We had another wonderful Family Reunion to celebrate two important birthdays. Renee had her birthday on Thursday and Ronnie’s was on Sunday, so the whole clan met at The Other House, a great party venue on the Breede River not far south of Worcester, for the weekend. And what a weekend it was! As the bloke who turned 80 was me, I bore the brunt of so much good will and cheer that I was blown away. How privileged we are to have such a wonderful and loving family.

Renee opening a gift on Friday

A professional photographer was engaged to take a huge selection of family photographs and we look forward to seeing these in due course. She did, however, give us a foretaste of what is to come, and we cannot wait.

The whole Clan

The weather was superb, albeit we got pretty warm at times, but there was a pool and, better still, the river right on our doorstep. There were plenty of water craft so a lot of time was spent swimming, supping, canoeing and fishing. Needless to say we ate and drank like royalty! This family really rocks!!

We reminisced about previous family reunions and, apart from the many that took place in our Fernkloof home, we came up with the following;

2004 Seagulls; 2011 Tides; 2012 Nirvana; 2012 Oshoek; 2013 Mauritius; 2014 Oshoek; 2015 Somerset Gift; 2017 River Queen; 2018 River Queen; 2020 Breede River House; 2021 Aloe Ridge; 2021 Somerset Gift; 2022 Hilton Farm House; 2022 The Other House.

Family Reunion at Hilton Farmhouse

We celebrated Michael and Andrew’s fiftieth birthday party at the exceptional Hilton Farmhouse, some 20 km east of Stilbaai. The whole Clan was present and we had three nights away. It is a wonderful venue for a large family gathering and we were very impressed with all the facilities, however, the weather could have been a bit better – as is usually the case, the best day was the last, when we had to depart.

Everyone together on our last morning

The young boys spent their time fishing and having fun on the rocks. Sadly, the bad weather did not make for good fishing and nothing of interest was caught, but they all had a great deal of fun and we had a feast of black mussels! The table tennis and snooker tables were put to good use, whilst the lawns served their purpose for games of Petanque. Many hilarious times were had around the dining table and the food was very good and plentiful, as were the cocktails and other liquid refreshments! The indoor and outdoor braais were certainly well used and the pizza oven was a real hit, producing some wonderful tasty creations by all and sundry! This family really knows how to party!!

The sunset on our last evening was really special and we all sat outside in wonderment as the sky lit up and then faded. It was a fitting end to a really amazing reunion of a family that knows no greater pleasure than to be together!

Walking in and around Cape Town

We spent a few days in Sea Point and then went to Rondebosch for the weekend, allowing us to enjoy some really great walks. The first was a hike in and around Kirstenbosch Gardens, including the base of Skeleton Gorge, the Contour path and part of Nursery Gorge. What a beautiful part of the world this is, with wonderful trees, fynbos and birds everywhere!

Being in Sea Point gave us the opportunity to walk along the Atlantic seaboard and we must have done around 20 km along the promenade at various times. We spent a morning walking above Muizenberg with Tanja and Gillian and they put us through our paces with some steep climbing and descents. We were completely blown away by the wonderful Mimetes that grows on Muizenberg Mountain – not shrubs, but big trees and all covered in beautiful blooms!

Our two walks at Muizenberg and Silvermine

We did another walk at Silvermine with David and Tanja, and Andrew and Gillian on Saturday and it was so beautiful. There were so many wild flowers and once again the magnificent Mimetes. There was rain around, but luckily it moved past us and we did not get wet. How fortunate we are to live in such a wonderful place and have a family that shares our passion for the outdoors!

A Walk to the Vogelgat Waterfall

On Friday we walked with David and his family up the kloof to the Main Falls in Vogelgat. It was a wonderful outing, with a few challenges where the path had been washed away by the recent floods; floods which, Giorgio told us, did far more damage than the 2005 event.

Renee and I did not complete the final 200 odd metres as the going was getting slippery, but David finished the climb to the last pool.

The Perdeberg Trail

Yesterday we walked with part of the family along the beautiful Perdeberg Trail. The weather was about as perfect as could be, with clear skies and absolutely no wind at all. What was immediately noticeable was that the recent rain has really eroded the trail badly in places, something we have never previously seen in the area, and a testament to how heavy the downpour was!

We enjoyed our picnic lunch overlooking Kleinmond and the beautiful Sandown Bay.

54 Years Later

We celebrated our 54th wedding anniversary today. Renee pulled out an old album and we were quite shocked to see how we have aged! But the real issue is that we have enjoyed every moment of it and look forward to much more time together!